Social Media Savvy Austinites Reunite Pet Pig With Owner

Hammy the pig made a big splash on social media this morning as Austin rallied to try to find the piggie’s parent. Hammy was seen wandering around S. 1st this morning and was picked up by animal control officers. The Austin Animal Center made a post about the pig around 11:30 a.m., and within four hours it has been shared nearly 800 times, with over 1,000 reactions.

Thankfully, Hammy has now made it back into the loving arms of his pops, Gregory Alton. Officer Chapa of Austin/Travis County Animal Protection helped facilitate the reunion, along with the good people of the Austin Lost and Found Pets Page on Facebook. As the AAC page says, the pig was spooked in the storms and ran away.

Thanks to the incident, it seems as though Hammy might have some new friends and a play date soon. A Facebook commenter added: “I’m right in your hood too and I got a pot belly, maybe Hammy and Sir Porkington Chops-A-Lot should have a play date.”

Pets running away from home during storms is a very common occurrence, one that lands pets at the doors of Austin’s shelters. If you find yourself with a missing pet (though it’s unlikely yours will make quite the splash that Hammy did), be sure to visit the Austin Animal Center’s Lost & Found page as soon as possible.